


Similar Plot Different World

by paperpalace



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: implied: ozai is a shitty human being, post zuko's development
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 14:37:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16019987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperpalace/pseuds/paperpalace
Summary: Walking into the tea shop, Sokka almost stopped dead in his tracks. Now, he hadn’t been in the Jasmine Dragon all that often, but from whatever Aang had said about the place he had, not once, ever, mentioned that Ozai's son was working there.The freakiest part was, Zuko wasn’t wearing his trademark scowl. There was almost a smile on his face as he talked to one of the customers.





	Similar Plot Different World

Walking into the tea shop, Sokka almost stopped dead in his tracks. Now, he hadn’t been in the Jasmine Dragon all that often, but from whatever Aang had said about the place he had, not once, ever, mentioned that the bigoted asshole running for Minster of Magic’s son was working there.

The freakiest part was, Zuko _wasn’t_ wearing his trademark scowl. There was almost a smile on his face as he talked to one of the customers.

It wasn’t the first time Sokka had seen the boy since his disappearance from Hogwarts just before the start of their third year. Not that he and the Slytherin had been close, but there had been mutual respect and an almost friendship lingering there. Then he had been hauled from Hogwarts for unknown reasons and sent to Durmstrang.

Since then Sokka had seen him eight times, and each time Zuko had been bitter, angry, and desperate to try and capture Aang.

It was the first real time, Sokka had ever properly seen the scar. And he was still unsure as to how the slightly older boy had gotten it.

“Finally got rid of that horrific hairstyle, I see.” Ravenclaw’s might be intelligent, no one ever said that they were _smart_.

As he approached the counter he was expecting a sneer, or maybe even a hex. Zuko’s eyes widened slightly, and it looked almost painful for him to do on the scarred side. The almost smile didn’t disappear.

“A few months ago. It was about time.”

Sokka almost had to hold his jaw to stop it from dropping.

Leaning across the counter, he prodded the boy who was clad in - by Merlin’s beard how had he not noticed - red and black. “Are you feeling okay? You’re not some weird bog-”

“No.” Zuko snapped and swatted his hand away.

“Sorry. But you’re working in a teashop and practically smiling, plus your hair doesn’t look awful anymore. What am I supposed to think?”

“That things change.” Zuko wasn’t frowning, but he didn’t look happy. “I thought you hated tea.”

“Yeah, but Aa- Uh, my friend-”

“Aang likes tea. I know. He’s been here a few times. I’m not going to try and capture him anymore, if that’s what you’re worried about. I have more important things to do.”

And honestly, he’s not surprised Aang didn’t tell him. The whiplash he was getting from the entire situation was insane. He was going to need a good few weeks to sleep the entire thing off.

“Okay. So. Aang likes tea, I don’t. He’s super ill. Wants some tea because apparently this place sells the best tea ever.”

Zuko nodded. “I’ll get him his favourite.”

By the time Sokka was leaving, he wondered if he had caught whatever Aang had and was hallucinating.

* * *

The thing about Sokka is that when something is bothering him, he can’t leave it alone. Especially when it came to the - no longer - ugly haired Slytherin who had been obsessively hunting Aang for the past few years. Just what was Zuko doing?

“You know you look like a Gryffindor.”

He really was in red and gold. And he didn’t look ashamed in the slightest.

“Lu Ten was a Gryffindor. My Uncle wears the colours all the time in commemoration.”

And- Well, Sokka couldn’t really find a flaw in tha-

“It’s my goal.”

“Wh-what?”

Zuko, straight faced and determined looked Sokka dead in the eye. “When I return to Hogwarts. I want to be in Gryffindor. They’re brave, and I need to be surrounded by that to-”

“Are you insane?” Incredulity and oddly enough worry flooded through Sokka. “Uh, you? In Gryffindor? The house that hates Ozai the most? The house that hates y-”

“Me? I know.” Something sad flicked through Zuko’s golden eyes. “But I brought that on myself. There are only two places I could possibly go. I don’t want to be a Slytherin, and anyway I’m not sure the hat would put me there anyway.”

“There are two other houses, you know that, right?”

“Can they get me where I need to go?”

“I can’t answer that until I know what your plan is.” Taking the to-go cup of tea off the counter, he gave a shrug and turned towards the door. As he made his way to the exit, he didn’t bother turning around to look at Zuko. “And anyway, Aang’s in Hufflepuff and he’s destined to save the Wizarding World. Can’t be that bad a place to be to achieve your goals if the hat’s willing to put the Chosen One there.”

* * *

“Sokka, you know I’m better, right?” Aang had a brow raised, and arms folded across his chest. “I can go get my own tea.”

He loved Aang, he really did. And he was totally okay with the boy living with him, Katara, their dad, and Gran-Gran. It’s not like Aang had anywhere else to go. Initially he was supposed to spend his summers with ex-Professer Bumi but the werewolf was constantly on the move and couldn’t provide a reliable life for Aang outside of Hogwarts.

But the kid just needed to understand that there were somethings Sokka had to do, and one of those things now just happened to be buying Aang tea. From the Jasmin Dragon - _it’s all the way down in London Sokka, you don’t need to go almost every day, plus they sell boxes of the tea bags_ \- basically daily. Didn’t Aang know that Sokka was just trying to keep an eye on him? They were basically brothers.

They probably would be brothers one day if the looks he and Katara kept sending each other were anything to go by.

His sister could claim she had crushes on whomever she wanted, she could date whomever she wanted, they both knew she was in love with Aang and would probably marry him one day.

It had been annoying at first, how much she chatted away about Aang when he wasn’t around. But Sokka had adapted, and he had more friends now. So he wasn’t constantly having to deal with Aang and Katara’s pining alone.

“Pssht, Aang. You’re basically my brother, I need to look out for-”

Aang’s face crumpled slightly. “You don’t believe him.”

Sokka wasn’t sure what was worse, Aangs disappointment or the fact that only part of him wanted to say _yes_. It wasn’t even a large part of him.

“Can you imagine what would happen if Katara found out.” Is what he said in response. “If you keep going, she’s going to get curious and follow you one day. All hell will break loose. If I keep insisting I go, she’ll think I’m trying to impress some girl and will want to stay as far away from that as possible.”

“She’d want to meet the girl eventually.”

“Two weeks, and we’re back at school anyway.” A small smile tugged at his lips. “And you can chase after the fire prince all you want with Momo, trying to befriend him and driving him insane. Katara won’t be happy, Suki will be wary. Toph isn’t going to care. Haru, Teo, and Duke, their reactions will be pretty mixed. But we’re you’re friends. I don’t need to trust him. I trust _you_. Whatever you think is best, you’re the Chosen One.”

“He said he’d teach me Defence against the Dark Arts, because they’re not teaching it in the school anymore.”

* * *

“How do you plan on doing it?” Because he was a Ravenclaw, he was naturally curious. “Teaching him all that stuff.”

Zuko froze, the tea almost spilling all over the counter when his hand shook slightly.

“I’m his best friend dude - well no, that’s Katara - I’m his best male friend. He tells me the things he can’t tell Katara. Like how pretty he thinks her eyes are, and how she’s the most powerful Charms caster he’s ever seen, and how once a vigilante saved his life, and how the guy that keeps trying to kidnap him actually said he’d-”

“I’m figuring it out.” Zuko snapped. “All I know if that he needs to learn this, and without practical experience he’s never going to be able to go toe to toe with my father and _win_. I’ll find somewhere once we get to-”

“What if I told you I knew of a place?”

Zuko slid the tea slowly across the counter, he looked both wary and curious at the same time. “What would be in it for you?”

Lowering his voice, he leaned on the counter. “You think that when the time comes, the only person who will be fighting is Aang?” Shaking his head. “When the time comes, it’s not going to be a one vs one cage fight. It’s going to be a full blown battle, and I’m going to be there for my friend. Katara, she can cast Charm’s better than anyone. Toph knows almost every hex in existence. They’ve both been trying to help Aang. Teaching him all they can to help him be the best. We all already know he’s great with transfiguration and flying. Suki’s a master at fighting, but it’s more muggle fighting than anything else at the moment. Aang probably won’t have much use for kick-boxing against the self-proclaimed Fire Lord.”

Swallowing, he looked away. “I’m not the greatest at magic, but I need to learn this crap too.” Taking in a breathe, he grabbed the tea. “Think on it. If not, I’m sure Aang already knows where the room is.” He pulled a grin onto his face. “Unfortunately that kid probably knows more about that school than I do.”

* * *

“So anyway, Katara thinks Aang’s got a girlfriend, which is hysterical.” Sokka shook his head, ignoring Zuko’s complete lack of interest. “He’s had a hairstyle change as well. You’ll probably see it soon, unless he wins the argument and gets to-”

“His hairstyle change wasn’t his choice?”

“Well, see it started a few-”

“Well, well, well.” The voice that echoed through the coffee shop had Sokka wanting to punch someone’s teeth out. “If it isn’t my favourite traitor, Sokka!”

“The hell do you want, Jet?” Sokka turned to look at the asshole. “I thought you said tea was ‘shitty leaf juice that wasn’t worth entering your temple’.”

“Hmm, and here I thought you agreed.”

Jet was walking through the shop, and all Sokka could think of was how desperately he wanted to break the bastards face.

“I’m here for Aang. You know, my friend. The kid you manipulated. And used. To try and hurt others.”

A smirk streched across Jet’s face. “Are you pissed off because of what I did to Aang, or because of what I did to your sister?”

Sokka felt as if his blood was boiling. Pounding. His fingers curled into fists, and his vision slowly tinted itself red.

“I’m pretty sure I’m pissed at you for both.”

“Surely you should be pissed at them, Sokka. They believed me over you. You, their friend, their brother. Telling them twisted truth’s-”

“Whole. Whole truths. And I’m not doing this. Not here.” He had to calm down. He still wasn’t old enough to use magic outside of school, and he certainly wasn’t strong enough to defeat Jet in combat anyway. “I’ve got things to do.”

“Like befriend Ozai’s son? What would Katara say if she knew you were associating with Fire Nation Scum?”

Why? Sokka wanted to scream. Why did the bastard constantly try to use the people he loved against him?

“Fuck off Jet, go burn down another festival or something. Maybe you’ll finally get caught and expelled.”

As he moved to grab the tea so he could just leave, Jet grabbed his arm. “What, leaving so soon?”

“Let him go.”

Sokka was almost surprised that Zuko had intercepted. But the young man was stood with his back stock straight, hand curled around the edge of his side of the counter. There was a firm frown fixed to his face and a determind glint in his eyes.

“Get out of this tea shop, and don’t return.”

The smirk on Jet’s face bloomed. “Or what.”

“Or I’ll escort you out.”

Sokka suspected, that like Jet, he was expecting a wand fight. A duel. Magic.

But when Jet refused, Zuko lept over the counter and punched Jet in the face in what appeared to be one fluid motion. Grabbing the Gryffindors arm, he twisted it behind his back and dragged him towards the front door.

“I’ll be telling the owner not to let you back in, understood?”

And Jet was tossed out the door.

Later that night, Sokka wondered how uncomfortable Zuko felt when all the younger had done was stare at him for almost five minutes straight. The awe and shock Sokka had experienced, felt almost life changing.

* * *

Hugging his dad and Gran-Gran good-bye was always the worst part of boarding the express, closely followed by the ridiculously stupid rule that meant they had to travel all the way to London from Orkney, just to travel back up to the Scottish Highlands.

“This year, I’m going to produce a patronus.” Katara stated firmly as they settled into their usual compartment. “I will.”

“Just think of something that makes you happy. It doesn’t have to be a memory, it could be a feeling.” Aang replied, almost shyly. “That’s how I produced mine.”

None of them really knew what the creature that had burst out of Aang’s wand was, but it was huge and Sokka loved it.

He’d never produce a patronas, and oddly enough, he was okay with that.

Suki sat down next to Sokka, slipping into the space by the window that he had left for her, while Toph threw herself almost completely on top of Katara.

As the train began moving, they all waved out the window to their familes. Even Toph, who couldn’t quite see her parents, but went out of her way to try anyway. It was the first time Sokka had seen the Beifong’s since the summer of Toph’s first year.

It was almost half an hour into their journey, and Aang was throwing Bertie Bot’s Every Flavoured Beans into the air when for Momo to catch, when the door slid open.

Sokka could say he had seen many expressions on the older boys face over the years, nervous had never been one of them.

“Everywhere else is full. Can I join you guys?”

* * *

Later, when Sokka was stuffing his face at the beginning of year feast, sitting next to Mai of all people while Teo ranted about one of his fathers new inventions, he glanced over to Aang at the Hufflepuff table. Where the younger boy kept trying to encourage Momo to get off of Zuko’s head, as others laughed and tried to join in the fun.

Zuko simply looked content, and for just a second his gold eyes met Sokka’s.

The Ravenclaw thought he must have imagined the _Thank You_ he heard echo through his head.

**Author's Note:**

> not my greatest work unfortunately, but I had this idea and couldn't get it out my head.  
> may continue it, we'll have to wait and see


End file.
